Realizing I f-ed up

Anyone else kinda think that grades and school quality would make up for a bad LSAT? I really should have taken this thing again and now its too late for this admissions cycle. It's only now that it's sinking in. SH*************************T!

why don't you just take it again and go '06? i took it twice but f'd up the second time worse than the first. so it's not a guarantee that if you take it again you'll do any better. i may retake and go '06 if i don't get into 1 of 2 schools. i did shittier than you guys too.

Whos,You're waiting on BC, right? I kinda think they're a little more forgiving about the LSAT than other schools. If you look at LSN - they've rejected people with VERY high LSATs - but they're keeping us around...

My theory is that it is becasue they ask for your SAT score. I was so offended by that question on the BC app. that I almost skipped it (my SAT score is about 15 year old). Nonetheless, I think they saw my crappy SAT score and decent GPA as an indicator that standardized tests aren't predictive in my case. Just a thought.

I have a "good" feeling about BC!

That said - I'm retaking the LSAT on June 6th. I thought I was "in" at UW-Madison, and, like you, I just went from "hold" to waitlist. Damn LSAT.

I would have bet school quality and reputation could derail a law school app, i.e. I was a little surprised that people from state schools went to Harvard law. But it became pretty clear pretty quickly that the LSAT was king in school selection.

ccorsi

No doubt it is almost all about the LSAT - maybe 75% so. However, I did learn a couple of things I'll pass on to friends and family who may apply in later years.

Obviously the key advice is seriously prepare for the LSAT. Take courses, buy books, and most importantly - take practice tests and make sure you TIME yourself.

However, if you are just not a big test person and still do marginally - say 155-163, but have really good soft factors all is not lost. Applying to programs as a P/T candidate can get you over the hump. Most schools that have P/T programs can sacrifice a bit on the LSAT number because it is not reported to US News. Now they won't stray crazily as you still have to take the same classes and they want you to be able to succeed, but it gives you a much better chance of getting your foot in the door as oppossed to the F/T program. Almost all the schools will let you transer from P/T to full time after a successful 1st semester. So you can catch up with your peers by summer after 1L.

That to me was the one thing I learned other than that one test is way more important than 4 years of good work as an undergrad. That is reality - no sense pissing and moaning about it - better to deal with it head on.

Whos,You're waiting on BC, right? I kinda think they're a little more forgiving about the LSAT than other schools. If you look at LSN - they've rejected people with VERY high LSATs - but they're keeping us around...

My theory is that it is becasue they ask for your SAT score. I was so offended by that question on the BC app. that I almost skipped it (my SAT score is about 15 year old). Nonetheless, I think they saw my crappy SAT score and decent GPA as an indicator that standardized tests aren't predictive in my case. Just a thought.

I have a "good" feeling about BC!

That said - I'm retaking the LSAT on June 6th. I thought I was "in" at UW-Madison, and, like you, I just went from "hold" to waitlist. Damn LSAT.

Thanks for the encouragement. I hope that I get in BC and then I won't really complain. As for Madison, I still haven't received any "waitlist" letter yet, leading me to believe it just hasn't yet arrived. About the SAT question: I don't remember them asking that or me filling it out, but presumably that helped since I didn't do great on those either. One more thing: I have an addendum to send that has a series of concerns that schools could possibly raise concerning, among other things, age, WE, and LSAT scores. Do you think I should sen this, or would it, as my pre-law advisor said, "raise to many red flags"? Personally, I think the witch was totally wrong and that this addendum could have answered questions the committee may have had.Good luck to you on the June LSAT

I agree with this. GPA matters somewhat but much less so, and ugrad school reputation (despite what they say) means almost nothing. You can go to the easiest college, select the easiest major and if you can do reasonably well on the LSAT, you're set. Schools report numbers -- not difficulty of major and schools attended -- to US News. It's all too easy for them to game the system by admitting a number of people w/ high GPA's who had slack majors at easy undergrads.